Samsung released its Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge+ phones a couple of weeks back after many a leak, rumor and speculation in the media. While the Note 5 will reportedly not be launched universally, the fifth generation flagship of one of Samsung’s best-selling smartphone lineups has found its way to Vietnam, where, reports claim that one entrepreneurial outlet is offering for sale, a gold-plated version of Samsung’s latest premium smartphone. That’s right, the Karalux Store in the country’s capital city of Hanoi has just gold-plated the Galaxy Note 5. Mind you, this is the same store that had reportedly gold plated Samsung’s previously released premium smartphones like the Galaxy S6, S6 Edge and Note 4. The store is also known to gold plate the chrome bits and alloy wheels on Rolls Royce Phantoms and Hummers.
Coming to the smartphone gold-plating process, reports say that engineers at the store had to go through as many as ten steps to take the phone apart, to start their work on gold plating the metal frame, which is made out of 7000-series Aluminum, said to be 60 percent stronger and lighter than regular stainless steel. The metal was then processed to apply a base undercoat to act as a primer to ensure better adhesion of the liquid gold to the aluminum surface, thereby increasing durability. Finally, once the actual gold-plating was over and done with, a protective layer was applied on top, to provide additional protection.
Questions about tastefulness aside, the entire process of gold-plating the device costs as much as 8 million Vietnamese Dong ($355) per unit. Add that to the original cost of the phone, which for the Note 5, is around 17 million VND ($755) in the country. Meaning, a gold plated Galaxy Note 5 can be yours for the neat little sum of 25 million VND ($1110). Post gold-plating, some of the devices are apparently on display at the Karalux store for public viewing. Interested parties however need not visit Vietnam to get their hands on gold plated Samsung devices. They can actually indulge in some conspicuous consumption right from their homes, as the devices are available to order on eBay from around the world.
